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The Great Depression (1929-39)
was a severe economic downturn that started in the United States with a stock market crash and eventually spread across the globe.
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Many of the things we use today were directly or indirectly a result of these difficult times. They prove that necessity is indeed the mother of invention.
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Nylon
Nylon was developed in the mid-1930s by Wallace Carothers, although it was only commercially available at the end of the Great Depression.
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Photocopier
In 1938, Chester Carlson, a patent attorney with arthritis, developed the xerographic process to reduce the pain of manually rewriting documents. It took off commercially in 1949.
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FM radio
Edwin Armstrong invented and patented the FM radio in 1933. It was common for families to gather around the radio for entertainment during the Depression.
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Sliced bread
In 1930, Continental Baking Co.’s pre-sliced ‘Wonder Bread’ popularised sliced bread across the US due to its affordability and availability during the Depression.
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Monopoly
The ubiquitous board game was patented in 1935 by Charles Barrow, as the Great Depression swept the globe. The wealth accumulation game was a form of escapism.
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Electric guitar
George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacker invented the electric guitar in the 1930s. Initially, it was met with mixed reactions due to its status as a “luxury item” before gaining popularity.
Image: Pexels
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